With lockdown grinding on, seemingly endlessly, questions like, “will I go to a festival again?” and “Will I ever play another gig?” arise. The answer to both of them is YES! But it’s going to look a little different.
While live stream gigs may not be as riveting as jumping around with hundreds of sweaty, excited people, it is the new way of seeing your favorite artists and it can offer a more intimate experience.
And with global revenue in the music sector falling by 75 per cent in 2020, we need to find ways to keep the music and arts industry afloat. Introducing… the ultimate live-stream gig guide.
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First things first!
Firstly, you need to define what your talent or art is? If you’re an experienced gigging musician then this step should be pretty easy for you. However, there are so many talented artists out there, so this first step if defining who and what you are as an artist. This can be anything from musician, comedian, child’s entertainer to actor perfecting their one man (or woman…) show. Get clear on who you are and what kind of gigs you want to live-stream.
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Pick a platform
Platforms such as Facebook and Instagram live and tick-tock are great. Platforms such as tick tok have become hugely popular during the pandemic. However, they don’t have a ticketing option so it can be much more tricky to monetize your talents and sell tickets to your live-stream gigs.
New platforms such as UGigs Stream, have been created during the pandemic for exactly this reason. UGigs Stream is a new live-streaming app that is built for artists by artists.
UGigs Stream is a one-stop live streaming shop that allows artists of any kind to register for free and create a performer profile. You can then start creating live performances and tickets for these performances will go out for sale, just like on Ticketmaster. Audience members can browse through the type of entertainment they like, and see upcoming gigs.
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Get the audio right
A few simple tweaks can make a huge change to your sound, which is the most important thing when live-streaming a gig from home.
Firstly, invest in a proper microphone. Preferably a USB microphone so you can plug it directly into any computer. This skips over all the complicated setups.
If you are a band, then every different instrument should have its own microphone. When using multiple microphones, you’ll need an audio interface to plug the mics into. An audio interface will convert your audio into a language the computer can understand.
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Create the right atmosphere
Creating the right atmosphere can be beneficial in two ways. Firstly, the night ambiance can create better acoustics. A room with lots of hard surfaces like wood and tile, will create lots of bounce back and result in bad sound quality. However, a room with soft surfaces like carpet and curtains or blinds will create a better sound.
Secondly, ambiance is super important in creating the right vibe for your music. Explore some lighting options and what scene will best fit your music style.
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Promote and Monetise!
The first gig can be the hardest, so tell everyone you know and really rally support around your first live-stream gig. Then the second time, people will naturally buy tickets as you were so good the first time!
Don’t be afraid to ask friends and family to help you promote!
